The Fallen
by Evolution1
Summary: My first fic. When the Tamers split up, the Earth and Digital World fell into chaos. Now, 7 years later, in a world where Tamers are being systematically hunted, Rika unwillingly reunites with and falls for one of the others, who hope to change the future
1. The Dying Earth

**The Fallen: The Dying Earth**

**By Evolution**

Disclaimer: Digimon isn't mine.

The dying Earth…  It is rotting away, and soon even its bones will be dust blowing in the breeze…

The girl's hair blazed like fire in thick blackness of the night.  She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall of the gravel-coated alley, breathing in the bittersweet smoke of a light cigarette.  Opening her eyes and squinting at the pale glow of a streetlight on the main drag, she turned and began walking deeper into the alley.  

Her ears tingled as she felt the sound of shifting gravel other than that caused by her own footsteps enter her brain.  She stopped and turned around, frowning.  Behind her stood two scraggly looking men.  One was fat and stunk as if he hadn't taken a shower in weeks, the other was short and thin, with an ugly face that hinted at him having been abused as a child.  

"Fancy thing, a pretty girl such as yourself out here so late at night," chuckled the ugly one.

"It is a rare site these days, isn't it," the girl said calmly, tossing her cigarette to the ground.

"And for good reason," the ugly man's eyes shined with malice, or lust.

"Heh, we're gonna have some fun!" the fat one added, a string of drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.  The ugly man produced a knife from his side and began approaching the girl.

The girl began to slowly take steps backward, "Please, don't hurt me…"

"You should've known better than to come out here so late at night all by yourself," the ugly man panted with excitement.  

"Alone?" the girl smirked.  "Who said I was alone?"

"Hunh?" the ugly man mumbled.  Then he heard something land behind him.  He turned to see a large, yellow, fox-like creature standing behind himself and his friend.  He let out a quick gasp as he saw the fox raise its clawed hand, and swipe at the fat man's head.  There was a loud crunch and the fat man fell to the ground, his head crushed and its contents spilling over the ground.  The ugly man dropped the knife and backed away, muttering some gibberish as he crawled against the rotting wall of a building, staring at the girl.  "Y-you're one of those freaks!"

"What kind of freak would that be?" the girl said, approaching him.

The man glared and spat, "One of those freaks who has a Digimon!"

"Well, if having a Digimon partner makes me a freak, then I guess you're right.  You, on the other hand, were planning to rape and then kill me, and I'm sure the government views you as a model citizen."

"Please don't kill me, I have a wife and family," the man choked, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Whatever," the girl said mockingly.  "Sorry about your friend.  Renamon."  The girl turned and walked away from the frightened man, the fox following her.  She glanced back to see the man running the opposite way down the alley, ignoring the corpse of his friend.  It didn't matter; the rats would strip it of its flesh before dawn.

A small bell chimed as the girl and her Digimon entered the dark, smoky bar that was one of the few places Tamers who hadn't renounced their Digimon could gather with a mild amount of safety.  There were many Tamers in the bar, most in their adolescence or early adulthood.  Digimon were also present, most clung closely to their respective Tamers.  

The girl and Renamon sat down on stools in front of the bar.  The girl tapped on the wood surface of the bar.  The bartender turned around, he was about twenty-five with black hair and a calm, pleasant face.  He was the oldest Tamer the girl had ever met, and about the only person, aside from Renamon, that she trusted.  "Good evening Rika, do you want the usual?"

"Yeah, Ben," she sighed.  "Give me a Pepsi."

"Right."  The bartender turned and yelled to the wiry creature that was scuttling about behind the bar, "Geckomon, I need a Pepsi for Rika here."

"Right partner!" the creature called back as it hopped to get a glass.

Ben turned back to the girl and smiled, "He's excited because I taught him how to make margaritas today."  

Rika took off her black trench coat and laid it on the bar.  She wore a black T-shirt with a deep blue, broken heart on the chest.  She swiveled around in her chair and looked over the crowd gathered in the bar.  Towards one of the back corners of the bar was a shady man with a hat covering most of his face.  She turned back to Ben, "Who's that guy?"

Ben shrugged, "I don't know, he just came in, ordered a Pepsi, and has been sitting back there for a couple hours.  I don't mind him as long as he keeps buying drinks and doesn't cause trouble."

"Here's your Pepsi, Rika," the Geckomon chuckled as he set the drink in front of her.  He turned to the fox and blushed, "Hi Renamon."  The fox responded with silence.  

"Hey, another beer down here!" called one of the customers.  

"Right!" cried the Geckomon, "Talk to you later, Renamon!"  The creature jumped down the bar to the needy customer.

Rika squinted at Ben, "I'm the only one here who orders Pepsis."

"Well," Ben frowned, "he is a newcomer."

"Did he bring a Digimon?"

"No, but there are a lot of people who come here without their Digimon."

"I don't know," Rika growled, "he looks pretty suscpicious to me.  He might be a government agent."  She looked over to Renamon, "Let's go find out about this guy."

"Please don't do that Rika," Ben pleaded, "I'm sure that if he was an agent something would have happened by now."

Rika frowned, "Maybe, but I'm gonna watch that guy."

"If he tries anything, I'll be on him in an instant," said Renamon.

"Just try not to make too big a mess in my bar, Renamon."  Renamon nodded.

Ben turned back to Rika, "Anything new happen today?"

"Nope, pretty ordinary.  I staked out some potential hits in the southern area, killed one of two assholes who thought they could rape me on the way over here."

"Yeah, I can't say my day's been much more exciting.  So, thinking of robbing some people in the rich district huh?  Gotta watch out, they have pretty tight security over there."

Rika took a sip of her Pepsi, "Nothing Renamon and I can't handle."

The door to the bar quietly creaked open, and the dull thud of heavy boots mingled with the voices of the bar.  The eyes of the girl and the bartender turned to meet the black-garbed man wearing sunglasses.  A sun-cracked cowboy hat topped his head and his dry lips were emotionless.  Rika looked over to Renamon, whose eyes were glowing with mistrust.

The man stood in front of the door, not moving or speaking, just looking over the crowded room.  Then… he smiled.

"A free-agent!" Rika yelled, pulling a gun from the holster at her side.  Renamon shot immediately from the bar stool, her claws aimed at the man's throat.  

The man pulled a small circular device from his pocket, and tossed it in the air.  A blue electrical current shot from it, flowing across the room.  As it did so, all the Digimon in the bar, including Renamon, fell to the ground and didn't move.  With his other hand, the man pulled out a gun and fired a laser blast at Rika, hitting the gun out of her hand.  

Rika clasped her hand in pain and glared at the man as he approached her, pointing the gun at her head.  She glared at him.

"You freaks are always letting your guard down," the man smirked.  "Now all of you are going to rot in the death camps."  Ben slowly reached under the bar to grab the weapon he had stored there.  The man looked at him, "Don't even try it."  

Through the corner of her eye, Rika saw the shady man who had been sitting in the back of the bar approaching the agent.  The shady man, whose face was still covered by his hat, called out, "This is my catch."

The agent looked at him and frowned, "I think not, buddy."

"Yes, I was here first, now get out and let me handle this before I report you to the agency."

"I don't care if you were here first pal, I did all the work, so I'm getting paid for turning these freaks over to the government."

The shady man was now just a few feet away from the agent.  "No."  The man pulled a gun from his side and pointed it at the agent.

The agent in turn aimed the gun at the shady man.  "What, are you going to shoot me?  That'll get you thrown in the death camps along with all these other freaks."

"Yes," the shady man said and he pulled the trigger.  A bright red dart hit the agent in the neck, and he fell to the ground before he had time to react.  Then the shady man turned and looked at Rika.  

Rika slowly moved her hand toward another gun hidden at her side, keeping her eyes fixed on the shady man, who continued to stare at her.  

"Wait," the shady man said to Rika, "let me show you something."  He pulled off his hat with his free hand, exposing his dark hair and a vibrant face of Chinese ancestry.

"Henry…" Rika gasped.

Author's Note: Thoughts?  Please be gentle, this is my first fic.


	2. Silent Screams

The Fallen:  Silent Screams

**By Evolution**

The silent screams rip through the air… children's tears stain the dying Earth… not war… not murder… genocide…

"Rika…" Henry said, looking hard into her eyes.  He smiled and moved closer to her.

Rika frowned at him, "What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you, we need to talk."

"We don't need to talk.  If we had needed to talk, I would have talked to you and the others seven years ago.  I could be completely content for the rest of my life without ever seeing any of you again."  
  


"Rika please, this isn't about the past, this is about the future."

Rika scoffed, "Future?  There is no future here.  Life has lost all meaning for everyone, all that matters now is survival."

"But we can change that, Rika."  Henry held his hand out toward her.  Rika pushed his arm out of the way and kneeled down next to the unconscious Renamon.  Henry said, "It'll be a few hours before she wakes up."

Rika pulled Renamon over her shoulders and stood up.  "I know.  That's why we're getting out of here."

Henry glanced around the bar; the eyes of all the occupants were glued on them.  "Rika please, you're one of the most powerful Tamers to ever exist, we- no the world- needs you."

"Does it look like I care about saving the world?" Rika laughed, stepped over the fallen agent, and put her hand on the door.

"Don't you have any higher ideals that you would die for Rika?"

Rika looked back and glared at him, "I've never had any, why would that have changed by now?"  She kicked open the door and yelled back, "Ben, kill the agent, otherwise he'll just come back again!"

"Right!" Ben yelled back to her as the door slammed shut.

Rika stomped down the ally.  This was the last thing she needed; him and the others back in her life.  She and Renamon had been getting along just fine, they had adapted to the life of being innocent fugitives just fine.  She had put so many layers of ice over her heart, that every time she found out someone she had known had been captured and sent to a death camp in the Digital world, she felt nothing.  Emotions were for the weak, for humans, not for Tamers.  What did she care about saving humans for the shitty world that they had created?  They were the ones who persecuted Tamers, killed them, and made life a barren dessert of despair for those that lived.  

"Rika, wait!" Henry called as he jumped out the bar door, racing down the alley after her.  Rika growled in annoyance and quickened her pace.  Henry yelled to her, "So you want to settle for a life of hiding in the shadows, always running, robbing people just to stay alive?  Whatever happened to the old Rika?"

Rika spun around, "It's survival of the fittest Henry, it always has been.  Hero's die for some stupid purpose that they believe is right.  You're going to ask me to risk Renamon's, and my own survival, for some purpose that neither of us believes in.  I left you and the others for a reason Henry; I'm not about to come back with a smile.

Henry was now at her side, "Rika, its because you left us that we split up, and because we split up that all of this, this entire darkness covering the world, happened.  Technically, this is all your fault!"

Rika glared at him, and if she hadn't had Renamon in her arms, she would have shot him right then and there.  She was ready to hiss back at him when a bright light shot into her eyes, making them clench shut.  

"Halt Tamers, you are under arrest!"

"Shit!" Rika growled.  She turned down an alley, running as fast as she could.  Henry followed at her heels.

Sirens screeched through the air, "Tamers, escape is futile.  Give up now to be taken to the Protected Communities, or risk termination!"

"We're," Ruki huffed, "dead either way!  Thanks a lot, Henry!  Come on Renamon, wake up!"

"What, you don't think I have a back up plan?" Henry laughed.  "Terriermon!"

"Bunny blast!" cried a high-pitched voice, and the light on the police helicopter burst into darkness.   Rika looked back toward the helicopter, barely able to make out its faint outline in the sky.  Then she looked back at Henry, just as the annoying rabbit Digimon landed on his shoulder.  

Rika yelled back, "Great, so you blinded them.  They have heat sensors on there too, incase you didn't know."

Henry stopped, "Ok Terriermon, are you ready?"

The rabbit hopped off Henry's should and nodded, "Yeah, let's teach them not to mess with Tamers!"

Rika skidded to a stop, "Are you crazy!?  Terriermon can't fight them, even Kyubimon has trouble fighting copters!"

Henry looked at Rika and smirked, "Why is it you always assume Renamon is more powerful than Terriermon?"  With that said, he pulled his D-Power and a card from the deck at his side and held it in front of his face.  The wind seemed to blow around him in all directions, whipping his hair with furry.  With a series of motions, he slashed the card through the D-Power; his eyes seemed to glow with determination.  "Digimodify!… Digievolution activate!"  

A bright sphere of light formed around the little, rabbit Digimon.  "Terriermon digivolve to… Gargomon!"  The sphere of light disappeared, and now, instead of a tiny bunny, was a large creature with the head of a rabbit and guns for hands.

Laser blasts from the helicopter began ripping into the ground around the Tamers.  Gargomon smiled, "I can do that too!  Gargo laser!"  The rotary machine guns on his arms began spinning, sending a spray of bullets at the helicopter.  The shrieks and cries of tearing twisted metal filled the air.

A large blast hit the ground and exploded, sending Rika sprawling to the ground.  "This isn't working Henry!"

Henry yelled to Gargomon, "Get closer!"

"Right!" Gargomon replied.  He leapt into the air, flying the height of the buildings, shooting a spray of bullets at the helicopter.  As he reached the level of the helicopter he pulled back his arm, the rotary gun on it beginning to glow with a fierce green light.  Gargomon cried out as he rammed his metallic fist into the hull of the helicopter, causing it to explode in a ball of flames around him.  

The large rabbit landed on the ground and laughed in triumph.  Then he began glowing, and light shot from his body.  When the light ceased, the small rabbit was there.  It leapt up onto Henry's shoulder again.  

Rika looked at Henry with wide eyes, "You beat them like it was easy!"

"Well," Henry smiled, "it comes with practice."

Rika frowned angrily and looked at Henry, "Well, since you saved me, I guess I have to give you a chance to talk to me.  But that doesn't mean that I'm going to help you."

"Thanks, Rika."

Renamon was still unconscious, and lying on the couch in Rika's run down, shabby apartment.  The two Tamers, and Terriermon, sat at a table in Rika's kitchen, talking.

"So what do you want?" Rika asked, the annoyance of having Henry in her apartment evident in her voice.

"Rika," Henry asked with a tone of sadness, "why did you leave us seven years ago?"

"I don't want to talk about that.  You wanted to talk to me in the bar, why?"

Henry smiled sadly, "Like I said, because the group broke up, we didn't stop the government from doing this to the world."

"How could we have stopped them?  It's not like we could have fought them or anything."

"No, but because the group broke up, there was no way to fight all the Digimon that invaded Earth.  If we had stayed together, then we could have stopped them and humans wouldn't hate us now."

"Still, its not our fault that they blame us for the invasions.  The Digimon would have done damage to the world either way."

"I know, but if we had been there to stop them, we would have made them realize that we weren't a threat to them."

"Who says we aren't?  If we actually fought against them instead of hiding and running, they would realize that they aren't so powerful."

"Rika, a little while after the group split, scientists discovered that Tamers are genetically superior to humans.  That's why we have the ability to have Digimon partners and they don't.  But that doesn't mean that we're better than them, just different."

"We are superior, Henry.  That's why they hate us."

"Well, it doesn't matter that they hate us.  But humans are just as oppressed these days as we are.  When was the last time you saw a child roaming the streets?  Years ago, and that's because the world is in such chaos."

"So, what does this have to do with me?"

"Takato and I found out that there's some force behind the government's actions.  Killing off all the Tamers isn't just a reaction of the government, there's some Digimon or human behind all this."

"And who would that be?"

"We don't know.  But Kenta managed to intercept some information on the Internet that was from the Digital World.  It had strict orders to increase the rates of extermination of the Tamers across the world, and it was sent to one of the high-level government officials.  Now we know that no one of political importance lives in the Digital World.  As far as the world knows, that's just a desert and information waist land that is where they have all the death camps.  So that means that someone is controlling the government in the Digital World."

"And you want to find it and stop it," Rika rolled her eyes.

"Yes!  So far, we already have the entire group back together, except you."

"Why am I so important?"

"Rika, of all the Tamers in the world, only we, the members of the group, have managed to get our Digimon to evolve above Champion level.  You were once called the 'Digimon Queen,' that alone shows how powerful you are.  We're the only ones in the world who even have a chance at stopping whatever is behind this.  And look at how the group just fell apart after you left.  You are a major component to our team!"

"Whatever," Rika mumbled.

"I'm serious!  We can't do this without you, all the others want you back with us, why don't you want to be with us?"

"If the others want me back so bad, why didn't Takato or Kazu come with you?"

"Kazu and some of the others are busy preparing to enter the Digital World.  Takato and Ryo are already there."

Rika raised her eyebrow at Henry, "Why are they there already?"

"It's Jerri, she's in one of the death camps.  I was supposed to get you and meet them there to get her out."

Rika frowned, "Well, I guess I would feel somewhat bad if Jerri was killed."

"Does that mean you're going to help us?"

"No.  But I will help break Jerri out.  After that I'm leaving you guys."

"That's a start, but I hope you change your mind, Rika.  We need you."


	3. Digital Hell

The Fallen: Digital Hell

By Evolution

Its soil has drunken the blood of war… its air has howled with the cries of suffering… its inhabitants hate each other… the dying Earth's sister world… the Digital Hell…

"I wish Henry would hurry up," Takato growled, shifting the old goggles around on his head. He pulled out his D-Power and looked carefully at it. It was slightly cracked on one of the edges, but it had withstood seven years of wear quite well.

"Henry's probably moving as fast as he can," said Ryo sternly. "Wildcat is probably being stubborn."

"Do you think, she'll come?"

"Probably not. I doubt she'd come back with a smile after seven years."

"If she did come back, I doubt it would be with a smile at all."

"You never know," continued Ryo, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He put the cigarette between his lips and turned around, slowly looking over the dirt mound behind which they were hiding. Millions of shards of light below blazed up through the digital darkness. The grinding of machinery and the voices of thousands of people chorused through the air. 

"Anything new going on down there?" Takato asked as he pulled himself next to Ryo and looked at the city below.

"No… funny how they use Tamers for slave labor in the death camps. I wonder what they're doing."

"Hopefully we'll find out soon."

"What are we going to do if Rika doesn't come, Takato?" asked the red dragon sitting at his side.

Takato smiled, "Well, we could really use Renamon's stealth to get in there, but if she doesn't show it'll be up to you, Terriermon and Cyberdramon to create a diversion so we can get in there and find Jeri. 

"Why don't we just attack the actual buildings," growled Cyberdramon, "then we can create a delay for whatever the government's doing with the Tamers."

"I wish we could, but there are too many Tamers in there, we can't risk any of them getting hurt," Ryo sighed, and took another breath of smoke.

"Hey," a voice called quietly behind them. Takato and Ryo turned to see Henry and Rika creeping towards them.

"Rika…" Takato whispered.

"Hey Wildcat," Ryo chuckled. "Long time no see."

"Shut up Ryo," Rika growled and peered down into the valley, "So that's what the death camps look like. It looks more like a refinery."

"Sorry we took so long, Rika needed a little convincing," Henry said.

"Where are all the Digimon," asked Renamon.

Takato looked at her sadly, "The Digimon are deleted as soon as they enter the death camps. The Tamers are forced to work with little food or water until they die from exhaustion."

"Why is Jeri in there?" asked Rika. "Leomon died over seven years ago."

Henry looked at her, "Just because her partner died doesn't take away the fact that she's a Tamer. A genetic scan could easily prove that. And it's not like she had anyone to protect her when her brother turned her in."

Terriermon chimed in, "What's the plan then?"

Ryo looked at Renamon and put out his cigarette, "Renamon, we need you to use your stealth to get in there and find Jeri. Watch out for their anti-Digimon weapons. Once you find her, come back here and tell us. Then we'll create a distraction and Rika and Henry will grab Jeri."

"What about the other Tamers," Rika asked, "why don't we just save them as well?"

"There's too much firepower down there," answered Henry. "Just creating a distraction is going to be dangerous enough for our Digimon. We would need a small army to free all the Tamers in there."

"Wait, do you hear that," whispered Terriermon, raising one of his ears. 

The Tamers held their breath for a moment, listening. In a few seconds they heard a humming and what sounded like squawking.

"I don't like the sound of that," Takato said. 

All of the Tamers looked into the sky as a flock of hundreds of flying creatures appeared on the horizon. They looked like flying jets, with claws and beaks. Six missiles lined each of their wings.

"Shit," growled Ryo, "of all the bad timing."

"Pteranomon," said Henry.

"Are they coming to attack the camp?" asked Rika.

"Yeah," sighed Takato. "Just our luck that they decided to attack now. We won't be able to hold them off, but maybe we can use them to our advantage. As soon as they begin to attack the city, lets get down there and find Jeri. We just have to hope that she's not killed in the initial attack." Takato opened a sack and pulled out some guns, "Everyone take flair guns, once any of you finds Jeri, shoot one into the air. That will be the signal to retreat."

Rika took one of the flare guns and looked at Renamon, "Heh finally some real action. I have to admit that I missed this."

A loud siren began blasting throughout the camp below, and hundred of soldiers rushed to mobilize the camp. Rika and Renamon jumped over the hill and began descending into the valley as the shock wave of the creatures flying overhead pulsated around them. Rika watched as the Pteranomon swooped down onto the city, firing missiles from their wings into the buildings. Parts of the camp burst into massive balls of flames. Soldiers and Tamers, those not killed by the explosions, could be heard screaming as they were burned to death. 

Rika and Henry reached one of the outer walls, which was made of thick concrete and had razor wire decorating it. "Renamon," Rika ordered.

Renamon leapt into the air and cried out, "Diamond storm!" Thousands of crystal shards sprayed from around the fox and barraged the wall. There was and explosion and when the smoke cleared there was an opening in the wall. 

"Come on," Rika yelled to Henry, pulling out her gun. They entered the camp and began to search furiously for Jeri. Most of the soldiers were too concentrated on the attack of the Pteranomon to notice the infiltrating Tamers. Imprisoned Tamers were running and screaming in all directions. Rika noticed a soldier who was shooting many of the Tamers as they fled, and raised her gun. Just as the soldier was about to pick of a small boy, Rika pulled the trigger. The soldier cried as he was hit in the chest, and the force of the impact sent him flying back. He burst into bits of data as he hit the ground. _That's why they must have all the death camps here,_ Rika thought; _there are no bodies to dispose of._ "Where do you think Jeri would be," she yelled to Henry who was helping an injured Tamer onto the shoulders of another. 

Henry quickly asked the two Tamers he was helping, "Katou, Jeri." One of them replied in Spanish and pointed toward a large bunker. Henry thanked them and turned back to Rika, "He said he's not sure if it's the right one, but there was a Jeri over there."

"I guess we'll just have to try it." The two Tamers began running toward the bunker when a Pteranomon landed in front of them and hissed. 

Rika began firing at it, and Renamon leapt into the air. "Diamond Storm!" Another spray of crystals and the Pteranomon burst into data.

They made it to the hanger, and Rika tried turning the handle. It was locked. Henry kicked it open, and the Tamers entered carefully. This must have been where many of the captive Tamers slept. It was completely dark, and smelled of sickness and death. Rika tried not to think how many Tamers had died in here from the slow torture of the camp. She listened carefully and heard voices toward the back of the bunker, and someone was crying. She nodded to Henry and they ran quietly down the rows of wooden bunks. Only the Tamers who had been too sick to flee had remained on their wooden beds. One of them grabbed Rika arm and looked at her with sad eyes. Rika looked back into those eyes that were more dead than alive, and she tried to smile, hoping to comfort the poor Tamer. The Tamer choked and tried to say something, and then burst into data. Rika frowned sadly, and then hardened her heart. She had to focus on finding Jeri.

Henry and Rika slowly crept, hiding behind the bunks, and peered into the darkest corner of the bunker. There was a soldier pointing his gun at a young man their age. The boy had a wooden plank and was threatening to hit the soldier with it. The soldier only laughed. Behind the defending boy was a girl huddled in a corner, crying. It was Jeri.

"Boy," the soldier said in English, "I don't want to waist my time by killing you. But I will do it gladly if you don't get the hell out of my way."

"I won't let you hurt her," said the boy sternly, he had a British accent. 

"Then you leave me no choice," laughed the soldier, pulling back the hammer on his gun. There was a gunshot. The boy gasped as the soldier in front of him burst into data. Rika looked over at Henry, who lowered his gun.

Henry jumped out of hiding and approached the young man, "Don't worry, we're here to help you." The boy was silent.

"Henry!" cried Jeri, jumping up from the corner and throwing her arms around Henry. "What's going on out there?"

"Some Pteranomon are attacking, we need to get out of here."

Jeri looked over Henry's shoulder and noticed Rika leaning against one of the cots, half of her covered by the shadows. "Rika!" Jeri cried, "You're here too!"

"This isn't the time for friendly reunions," said Rika. "We need to get out of here."

"Right!" said Jeri. Henry and Jeri ran past Rika and headed towards the entrance of the bunker. The boy started to follow. Rika stood in his way, "Can you fight?"

"A little," the boy said quietly.

"Well don't think you can stick with us, you're on your own once we get out of here."

The boy angrily glared at Rika. Jeri's voice interrupted, "That's Kevin, he's my friend. Please let him come with us Rika, he put himself in danger to protect me after all."

"I just don't want us being held back is all," replied Rika, moving out of the boy's way.

She followed after him. Then she heard Renamon's voice whispering in her ear, "Why don't you want him with us?"

"I don't trust him," Rika replied. 

The Tamers ran out of the bunker, and Rika looked across the ruins of the factory. She saw more explosions. A few of the Pteranomon were attacking Growlmon and Cyberdramon, who were easily knocking each of the jet Digimon out of the sky. 

Henry pulled out his flare gun and shot it into the air. The streak of red light crossed the night air. "Let's get out of here," Henry said as he waved his hand toward the hole in the wall they had made earlier. 

When Takato and Ryo made it to the rendezvous point, Takato cried out with joy at seeing Jeri. The two ran to each other and hugged, tears streaming down Jeri's face. "I'm sorry I took so long, Jeri."

Jeri sniffled, "I knew you'd come. I just didn't expect you to make such a mess."

Takato smiled, "Sorry."

Ryo walked past Takato and Jeri, and looked carefully at the newcomer. Then he raised his arm, which was covered with a metal gauntlet, and offered it to the partner less Tamer. "The name's Ryo."

"Hi, I'm Kevin," the boy said shaking Ryo's hand. "Are you the legendary Tamer from Japan?"

"Yeah, where are you from?"

"I'm from England."

"Really?" Ryo raised one of his eyebrows. "Then how do you understand Japanese?"

Kevin smiled, "I spent a few years in Japan when my dad moved there for business."

"Well, it's good to have another member of the team." He smiled, and then looked over at Rika, "It's good to have you back too, Wildcat."

Rika frowned, "I just came to break Jeri out. Now that that's done, Renamon and I are going to head back."

"Rika," Henry pleaded, "you can't leave now!"

"Why not?"

Takato let go of Jeri and walked toward Rika, "Listen Rika, we're sorry about the past. But we need you! What we did today was nothing compared to what we will go through. Please don't leave us when we need you most!"

Rika looked into the eyes of the members of the group. Into Takato's pleading eyes, Jeri's sorrowful eyes, Henry's determined eyes, and Ryo's cocky eyes. Rika growled, "You didn't need me seven years ago," she glared at Ryo.

"But we did," Henry answered, "that's why all of this, the death camps, the crappy world we live in, are around, because we needed you and you weren't there for us."

Rika looked to Renamon, who returned the gaze with the unspoken answer, _I'll go with you no matter what your decision is. _Rika sighed, "I have to admit, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. And I am pretty tired of running from the government. But don't think that means I believe in your cause, I'm staying only to fight."

Takato smiled, "Thank you, Rika."

Henry put his hand on her shoulder, "It's a good thing you're staying. It took us years to track you down. I'd hate to see all that work put to nothing."

"Don't push it, Henry. I would have preferred it if you guys had never found me. But I hate to turn down a good fight."

Ryo put his hand on her other shoulder, "It's great to have you with us again, Wildcat."

Rika shook his should off and glared at him.

"Takato," said Jeri, "This is Kevin. He was my only friend in the camp. He wants to fight with us."

Takato looked at Kevin and smiled, "Hey, that's great! Here, you'll probably need a gun." Takato pulled out one of his guns and handed it to Kevin.

"Thanks," replied Kevin, smiling, "you won't regret it." 


	4. First Blood

**The Fallen: First Blood**

**By Evolution**

It is a feeling that few experience, a rush of adrenaline, but an overwhelming remorse soon follows… many who experience it wish they never had, because it only leads to more… and more… that is the price of first blood…

The cry of tearing steel filled the air.  Hot sparks rained down on the tired and decaying workers.  An entourage of heavily armed soldiers slowly passed a large vat of boiling metal.  The Tamer slaves were forced to bow to the head of the procession by their drivers.  The one they bowed before was a dark figure dressed in nothing more than a black cloak, the hood of the cloak masked his face with darkness.  Walking at the cloaked figure's right hand was a slim man with blond hair.  The man wore sunglasses, despite the fact that the only light present was from the glowing hot metal in the vat, and the sparks that precipitated around them.  The blond man was rhythmically opening and then snapping shut a Zippo in his hand.  There was a faint smile on his face, one of streaming confidence.  

"President Yamaki," said the cloaked figure with a deep and scratchy voice.

"Yes?" answered the blond man calmly.  He hated these camps; they put an inescapable chill in his bones.  At times it drove him insane.  There were times at night when he would wake up from a terrifying dream screaming, the weight of all the souls he had torn from their bodies crying in his ears, tearing at his mind.  But he would silence their crying with the rhythmic clicking of his metallic lighter, it was the only way.  He had opposed the systematic extermination of Tamers from the beginning, but in the end, the benefits would yield more than the loss would take.  

"Must you play with that infernal lighter all the time?"

"Sorry," Yamaki grimaced.  "I only do this when I'm deep in thought."

"It's getting on my nerves," the cloaked figure growled, "put it away."

Yamaki reluctantly put the lighter into his black coat pocket, glaring at the cloaked figure.  He would have to endure the tears of the fallen Tamers for a while.  The cloaked figure's presence was annoying him; he wanted to get the hell out of this disgusting camp.  "Is there a reason why you called me here, Sovereign?"

The dark figure cackled, "Yes, I want you a full report of all your plans and how they are unfolding."

"Everything is going as planned."  And so everything was, and had been for the last few years.  Just as there had once been four guardian Digimon in the Digital World, there were four lords of the human world now.  He was one of them, the president of the east.  His primary, though hidden, agenda was to eliminate Digimon entirely.  If killing humans was needed to do so, which it was, then he would not let his conscious hold him back.

"And what about the Tamers?" the cloaked figure continued.

Yamaki smiled, "Every day they grow closer to extinction.  Soon, there won't be any to stop us.  Once those in the camps have finished refining the chemicals from the Digital World and Earth, we'll be able to continue on with the next phase of the plan."

The cloaked figure croaked, "Everything is not under control, there are still some Tamers not confined to the camps!"

Yamaki recoiled slightly in surprise, but then regained his composure.  There was a trace of annoyance in his voice, "Of course everything is under control.  I admit that there are a few Tamers that have managed to escape capture and who cause a little trouble, but they are hardly enough to worry about."

"Oh, nothing to worry about?  What then of the attack on the camp in the southern sector?"

Yamaki frowned when the cloaked figure brought this up.  Those Tamers, the ones he had been so frustrated with when they were only children, still caused him trouble to this day.  They were the only resistance in his district, but they still hadn't managed to do any major damage.  "Yes, it's true the camp received massive damage, but the majority of that was from an attack of Pteranomon.  And if I'm not mistaken, it's your job to keep them under control.  Besides, the damages should be completely compared in the next couple days.  Nothing more than a minor set back."

"It is not the damages of the camp that I am worried about," the cloaked figure hissed.  "There is a certain group of Tamers, far more powerful than the rest.  They are slowly reuniting, and if I'm not mistaken, they rescued the last member of the group from that camp."

Yamaki grinned, "Don't worry about them, I've got someone on it…  Besides, the one they rescued lost her partner Digimon years ago; she'll be nothing more to them than extra baggage."

"Yet they also managed to recruit the other girl," the cloaked figure spat, "the one you said would never join them."

Yamaki smiled, "You know how she is, even more than I do.  To her, battle is like eating or breathing, she can't live without it.  And what better chance to get some more fighting into her system than that the little adventure the others proposed to her?"

There was a waver in the cloaked figure's voice, "They plan on coming to the Digital World to find me?"  The waver turned to a malignant chuckle, "Well watch for their next bioemergence, and as soon as they get here, kill them."

"Even Rika Nonaka?" asked Yamaki with some unease.

"Especially her…"

Rika sat on the concrete boundary of the roof of a deteriorating building.  She gently swung her legs back and forth in the night air.  She loved hovering on the edge; one slip and it would be a 70-storey fall to the street below.  There was something about being above the sea of lights below that made her feel so peaceful.  There would be an occasional explosion in the distance, resulting from who knows what.  But the peacefulness was present because it was too dark to see all of the dark and evil acts taking place below.

Renamon was usually present with her at times like this, but for the moment she was on one of the lower levels of the building, having that idiot Kazu fit her with some anti-detection devices.  

Most normal nights Rika would be out there, in the darkness below, staking out some place to rob, or robbing someplace.  She hated the fact that she had to steal for a living, but it wasn't exactly like she could get a job.  She made the robberies right in her mind because she usually took from those well off enough that the little she took wouldn't hurt them.  Then, after she had taken out a share for herself and Renamon, she gave the rest to Ben, who used it to provide relief for Tamers who needed it.  At times she'd thought of keeping the money for herself, and then just creating a new identity.  She could pay the genetic scanner to skew her test results, but he'd probably turn her in after she paid him anyways.  At times she couldn't understand why humans hated Tamers so much.  But she didn't like them very much either, so it all worked out.

Rika had never really considered herself to be a child, even when it had been physically undeniable.  Somehow, deep in her unconscious, she knew she would never live the life of a normal human girl.  But that didn't really bother her; it's not like the humans down below had it much better off than she did.  In fact, many humans shared the same life as she.  She remembered that day when her life, her childhood, was flushed down the toilet.  It had been a little while after she had left the team, and it was just the beginning of Earth's death pangs.  **_The pain, the tears, hiding in the mud, they were crystal clear in her mind's eye…_**

_It was raining.  Lightning blasted the land and the thunderous cries of some wretched god above echoed through the air.  Rain was Rika's favorite type of weather.  While most people cowered in their homes, she stood with her face to the sky, the fresh drops melting on her face and trickling onto her lips, the pleasure of their cool sweetness.   She knew her mother would be pissed at her for dragging water into the house, but she didn't care.  _

_Renamon was sitting under an overhang of the house, wishing she could enjoy the rain with Rika, but knowing that it would take hours to dry her fur.  Rika, noticing a troubled look on her partner's face, journeyed to her friend and sat down next to her.  _

_"Rika," Renamon said.  "Maybe we should forgive the others and go back to helping them.  They're having a lot of trouble with the Digimon that keep appearing, and I'm sure they could use our help."_

_"Why?" Rika growled.  "They have Ryo, he should more than enough help for them."_

_"It's just that-" there was a loud knock at the front door of the house, followed by a loud crashing through the house.  Renamon's fur bristled, she growled and leapt onto the roof, disappearing while still in the air.  Rika had a strange feeling in her gut, and she slowly began backing away from the house and back into the rain, which was no longer light and gentle, but heavy and furious.  There were some shouts from her mother and grandmother, followed by the deep, menacing voices of men._

_The door burst open, and two uniformed men walked through the doorway.  Her mother and grandmother followed.  One of the men smirked at Rika and raised his gun calmly at her.  "Hey little lady, you don't have a problem coming with us do you?"_

_Rika scowled, "I'm not going anywhere.  What, are you trying to arrest me or something?"_

_"A new law's been passed, missy," the other guard answered, "all Tamers are being moved to Protected Communities in the Digital World, as of now."_

_Rika's grandmother stepped forward and tried to reason with the men.  "Please, I don't know what you mean, my granddaughter's not a Tamer, whatever that is."  She glanced back at Rika, and the looked to Rika's mother, pleading for help.  _

_The man with the gun laughed, "She's a Tamer alright, she's been spotted with a kitsune-like creature on numerous occasions.  We also had a few sources personally identify her as a Tamer as well.  Now, why don't you come with us peacefully?"_

_Rika's grandmother threw herself between the men and her granddaughter.  "I will not let you take my granddaughter.  She may be a Tamer, but she and her Digimon friend have done more good for this city than anyone else.  For whatever reason you're persecuting Tamers, it's wrong.  Rika would never hurt anyone!"_

_"Lady, Japan's not the only country doing this, the whole world is.  There's obviously something wrong and dangerous with Tamers, so it's best they be removed from society."_

_"If it weren't for Rika and her friends, there would be no society!"_

_"Lady, calm down.  Now I've been given the authority to arrest Rika Nonaka by whatever means possible, and I intend to do so.  So get the hell out of the way," he pointed the gun at the old woman's chest._

_"No," Rika's grandmother growled firmly. _

_The officer looked to his companion, "I warned her, you're my witness."  The companion nodded.  Then the man with the gun looked back to the old woman, and pulled the trigger of his pistol.  The bullet tore into the old woman's chest, and she fell to the ground with a grunt.  She lay there and didn't move._

_"Noooooo!" Rika screamed in terror, running to her grandmother.  The officer raised the gun and yelled at her to stay where she was.  She didn't listen.  _

_The officer turned to look at his companion, as if to ask whether he should shoot the girl or not.  But as he turned his head back to the girl, a blur of yellow fire landed in front of him.  He was about to gasp in surprise, but instead gasped in pain as the girl's partner Digimon tore the gun from his hand with a swipe, sending the gun splashing into a puddle next to the old woman's body.  The two officers backed away from the Digimon, one holding his torn and bloody hand, screaming obscenities in pain, the other with a gun raised to the Digimon and a radio to his ear.  He yelled loudly into the radio, "Hostile resistance and one officer wounded, request back up immediately!"  _

_Rika looked up from her grandmother's body to see the standoff between Renamon and the two officers.  "Fuck, kill the damned thing!" yelled the officer who had been injured._

_"I'm not sure were supposed to, I think they want these things alive," replied the other._

_"I won't let you hurt Rika," growled Renamon._

_The injured officer hissed and pulled a knife out from his belt, "It's already attacked an officer, that's reason enough to shoot it, Kipling!  Besides, as soon as you let your guard down, it'll kill you instead!"_

_The officer nodded and aimed his gun at Renamon's head; he slowly began to pull back on the trigger.  There was a shot.  The officer with the gun fell to the ground, a gaping wound in his head.  The injured officer looked back at the young girl, his jaw gaping.  Rika had a cold look in her eye, and the gun quivered in her hands, still red with her grandmother's blood.  _

_The officer laughed and then looked to Rika's mother, "She would never hurt anyone, would she?  Well in case you weren't watching, she just murdered an officer of the law."  He turned back to Rika, "Now put the gun down, and slowly raise your arms."_

_"Why?" Rika hissed.  "I'm not going to go with you."_

_"You're a murderer.  If you don't come peacefully, I'll have to kill you."_

_"You're the murderer," Rika spat.  "My mother's a witness.  She saw you kill my grandmother, and your friend was going to kill Renamon."  Rika slowly put the gun down on the wet grass.  "I won't leave until the other officers arrive and see what you've done, then they'll be witnesses too."  _

_The officer took a few steps forward and grabbed the gun from the pool of water she had set it in.  He then aimed it at her, "You've made a wise decision, kid…  But look at this," he held up his battered hand, "I'm still a little mad about this."  He turned and pointed the gun at Renamon.  "You know, I could kill anyone of you and the courts would believe it was out of self defense."  He pointed the gun to Rika's mother.  "She's the only witness, but the courts would believe that whatever she said was only an attempt to defend her daughter."  He turned back to Rika and aimed the gun at her head, "But maybe I'll just say my partner and I were attacked by all of you, and that I was the only survivor!"  _

_Rika looked at him, a deep, hateful fire burning in her eyes.  The officer smirked, and began to squeeze the trigger.  Then he let out a cry of searing pain as claws tore down his back.  He turned around, and cried in surprise to see nothing there.  Then he looked up to see the fox Digimon floating in the air above him, wrapped into a ball, strange ice-like crystals forming in the air around it.  _

_"What the hell," he cried, raising his gun and aiming it at Renamon.  But before his greasy finger could find the trigger the fox burst its arms and legs out into the air, and the crystals began shooting from around Renamon.  The man cried as the thousands of ice crystals tore through his body, torrents of blood spraying from the holes they left in their paths.  When the barrage stopped, what was left of the man fell to the ground, nothing more than a heap of torn flesh and blood.       _

_Rika looked at Renamon, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, her body shaking.  They had spilt human blood for the first, but not the last, time.  They would grow numb to the feeling in later years, but the sour taste it left in their mouths would never vanish.  Rika hugged the body of her fallen grandmother again; hoping vainly that it might wake her.  The blare of police sirens rippled through the air.  Rika looked to her mother, who only stood idly.  Her mother's eyes seemed to be full of sorrow and pain; they seemed to tell the Tamer that she should leave, quickly.  _

_Rika rose, her clothes stained with blood.  "Renamon," she said, her voice full of tears.  Renamon burst forward and grabbed Rika in her arms, and then leapt over the fence surrounding the yard just as the sirens stopped in front of the house.  Rika looked back to her mother, the sad picture imprinted in her mind.  That was the last time she had ever seen her._

_It didn't stop raining for the next three days.  Rika and Renamon had lived in the alleys with all the street trash and druggies that wondered around aimlessly.  She saw many other Tamers surrender to their captors in a less than heroic fashion.  She tried to search for her other teammates, but all of them had fled long before the arrests had started.  They had known beforehand what was going to happen.  They hadn't warned her.  They had abandoned her.  Renamon tried to interject for them, pleading with Rika to give them the benefit of the doubt, but Rika knew all too well that only members of the team received friendship, and when you leave the team, you leave the friendship.  But, then again, she had never really considered herself a member of the team, and abandonment could only be expected…_

Rika sighed.  Old and bitter memories.  She had never thought that just a few years later the others would be in need of her help, and she hated herself for actually agreeing to help them.  She wondered, for a moment, if the accident had never happened, would all of this, this entire world, be different?  If the accident hadn't happened, she never would have left them in the first place, and the rest of the events might have been prevented.  Would her grandmother still be alive?  Would hundreds of Tamers still be walking the streets as more than ghosts?  Was everything her fault?  

Her body stiffened as she felt a hand firmly grasp her shoulder.  Years of life on the streets had killed out the surprise reaction, crying out would only get you killed these days.  She turned and looked at the owner of the hand with a frown.

"It's not your fault.  I'm sorry I said it was earlier, Rika," Henry said calmly.  "Things would have gone this way no matter what."

Author's Note:  I'm sorry if that was a little over detailed, I have to admit that it even scared me a little.  Most scenes like that aren't going to be as detailed…


	5. Fallen Angel

**The Fallen:  Fallen Angel**

**By Evolution**

She fell from greatness… as did they all… but hers was the longest fall… but her beauty and power remain… roaming the dying Hell… like a fallen angel…

Rika looked across the sea of lights looming below.  Another explosion sliced through the darkness.  She pulled out a cigarette and lit it, pleasantly breathing the smoke into her lungs.  She didn't turn her head as Henry sat down next to her.

"Remember how it used to look?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, there were a lot more lights and a lot fewer explosions," Rika mumbled.

"Yeah, people were always saying how bad the world was getting seven years ago.  I think those people would have heart attacks if they could get a glimpse of their future."

Rika sighed, "How are we going to fix it?  It seems impossible to get the world back to the way it was."

"We're not going to try and repair it.  We have to start again, create a new world.  It may take a lot of work and time, but I know we can make it as good as it once was, if not better even."

"I don't know; it seems pretty impossible."

"We have to hope-"

"Henry, what happened to your family?"

"They refused to tell the government where I was hiding, not that they knew as it was.  So they were sent to the camps.  I tried to keep track of them for a while," he sighed, "but eventually I lost them.  They're probably dead now."

"I don't know what happened to my Mom, the last time I ever saw here was after Renamon and I killed those officers, when you guys just left us to die."

"We didn't abandon you Rika."

"Like hell you didn't," Rika spat. She glared angrily at Henry; then turned back to overlooking the city.  She took a final puff of smoke and then tossed the filter to the street many stories below.  "You could have at least warned me that they were going to start rounding up Tamers."

"We found out just a little sooner than you did.  We didn't have much time, I even sent you an email, but the officers must have come before you could read it."

"Sure.  So how'd you find out anyways?"

"We, I mean everyone except you since you didn't want to work with us, had followed a Digimon back to the Digital World.  He hadn't quite bioemerged completely and since we were there to meet him he went back, and a portal was open for us to follow.  We got there and beat him pretty easily, actually, but for some reason the portal didn't close.  We were about to head back when we noticed something strange in the distance.  It looked like a camp.  Ryo and Cyberdramon went and checked it out, and when they came back Ryo told us he overheard some of the soldiers being briefed.  All of us turned pail when he told us that Tamers would soon be the residents of the camps.  So we came back here as soon as possible and prepared to leave.  It was less then an hour from the time we got back to the time some officers knocked on my front door.  I was sending you the email when they knocked, I would have called but you weren't talking to any of us.  I barely managed to escape."

Rika was silent as she gazed into Henry's serene eyes.  They seemed so young still, and they didn't even tear up as he spoke.  Rika wondered how he had managed to overcome the years of suffering she had undergone.  Every time she looked into a mirror and stared at her eyes, the eyes reflected back at her were dead, cold, and filled with despair.  She had survived, but she hadn't lived in years.  It wasn't till the moment she realized the man in the bar was Henry that she had felt her heart beat for the first time in years…  

_Maybe_, she wondered, _deep down in my heart I want things to be back the way they were.  Before the persecution, before the accident, before they had even gone to the Digital World the first time.  We were a group back then, a team.  They were like my siblings, yet more in so many ways._  Her heart began to swell; she had treated those days as a waist of her time.  But now, she would gladly walk through the pits of Hell just to spend five minutes back in that bliss.

"So I suppose that it was my own fault for acting the way I did."  Rika closed her eyes.  "If it hadn't been for my stubbornness my grandmother would still be alive, or at least she wouldn't have died trying to protect me."

  
"We can't see the future, Rika.  We would have done a lot differently if we had known that we'd be in this situation now.  Though I think that you did overreact a little after you recovered from the accident."

Rika blinked, **_"The accident…"_**

_It seems like such a blur to me, partly because it was so long ago, but also because I barely survived.  I was told many times that I was lucky to be alive… but back then I think I would rather have been dead.  _

_The day it happened had been a day that seemed like nothing could go wrong.  The sun was shining brightly and the perfume of sweet summer flowers floated through the air. Of course I hated flowers back then, but I wouldn't mind seeing one now, considering how rare they are.  We, all the Tamers that is, had been planning to spend the afternoon in the park and then we were going to try the impossible feat of sneaking our Digimon into the movies.  They had never seen one in a theater, and that's an experience that everyone should have.  But of course, all of us, the kids at least, had to sit through an entire day of boring class.  I had told Renamon that I would meet her at the park where Guilmon usually hung out, as soon as I got out of school.  It's not like I was in any danger…_

_ There was this new girl in class, and of course she ended up sitting in the empty seat next to me.  She was a typical dizzy slut, but worse than most.  She had the air of a goddess, and I hoped that later in the semester I would get a chance to show her how badly a Tamer can mess up the face of a goddess._

_The stupid girl just didn't seem to get it.  No one likes to sit next to me because I never talk to them and give them death glares.  This girl just wouldn't shut up; she assumed I was her best friend or something.  She droned on and on about how her boyfriend was in high school and how he was so tough.  He was obviously a loser, dating someone so much younger, and anyone dating her couldn't be too bright.  From the parts of the conversation that I can remember, and the parts I paid attention to, she had been forced to come here by her parents.  She had gotten into a lot of trouble for hanging out on the streets and making friends with the wrong people.  Whatever; who cared.  I just kept hoping the teacher would shut her up._

_I was about ready to give her a black eye when I remembered how it would ruin my plans for the afternoon.  So to block her out I started doodling on my paper.  I drew a picture of Renamon fighting some evil Digimon I made up.  I was at the bottom of the picture, standing next to Henry, who I had kinda liked at the time.  I never would have admitted it back then, because I wasn't really into boys.  But I enjoyed being around Henry, so I guess that means I had a crush on him._

_When I finished my sketch, and was admiring it, remembering some of the adventures we had had, the girl's voice managed to get past my mental block:_

_"What the hell's that supposed to be?"  I shook my head, waking from my fantasy, and looked at her.  "That ugly fox thing, what's that?"_

_"Nothing," I growled, holding back the urge to kill her, she was too dumb to realize she was insulting my best friend.  _

_"Why are you in there?  You should grow up little girl."  I didn't say anything.  I really didn't want to get grounded for the afternoon.  "Man that boy's ugly.  Are you ignoring me!?"_

_"No duh, you should be in college with deduction power like that," I rolled my eyes._

_"Well at least I don't have an imaginary friend and fight imaginary monsters with my imaginary boyfriend!"_

_"All the people in this picture are real, your boyfriend's probably the imaginary one."_

_That's when I felt the sting slap across my face.  "You bitch!" She stood up and yelled._

_I rubbed my face, "Nice shot."_

_"I am gonna kick your ass bitch!"_

_"Miss Barnes!" our teacher yelled.  "I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my class!"_

_The girl looked at her pathetically, "But this stupid whore started it!"_

_"Rika is the smartest and most well behaved girl in class, she would never start any kind of trouble.  Go see the principle immediately Miss Barnes!"_

_The girl shrieked and sobbed angrily.  Then she bent down to me and growled, "You'll pay for this bitch!"  Then she stormed out of the room.  I just stared at my drawing triumphantly; I had managed to keep out of trouble.  But I hadn't…_

_I can't remember what happened the rest of the day until I got out of school.  I remember heading to the park afterwards.  I was feeling good, it was a Friday, I didn't have any homework, and I was going to go have fun with my friends.  The incident with the girl had completely slipped my mind, until I passed an alley and felt a thick hand grab the collar of my dress._

_The hand dragged me deep into the alley and I don't remember seeing much at first because of my struggling.  But then the hand set me down and I saw her, the girl from class.  She was obviously afraid to fight me on her own, because there were three big guys, probably high school aged.  I assumed that one was her loser boyfriend._

_"Hey bitch," she yelled at me.  "Here's my imaginary boyfriend, where's your imaginary fox monster?"  I wish Renamon had been there, she would have made all those guys piss their pants._

_I didn't need this, not now at least.  I smirked and laughed, "I guess you win, mine's imaginary and yours is real.  Congratulations!"_

_Two of her thugs grabbed my arms and held me so she could get close.  "You got me suspended!" she spat into my face._

_"So you're going to have these guys beat me up?" I laughed._

_She shrieked and punched me in the stomach.  It didn't hurt much because she hit well… like a girl, but she had just pushed me over the edge.  I wasn't about to just sit there and let some stupid girl pummel me while her friends held me back.  She was coming for another punch, this one aimed at my face, when I brought my foot up, kicking her square in the jaw.  She tumbled to the ground and looked up at me, blood dripping from her mouth and a few shattered teeth lying on the ground.  She began to cry hysterically.  I smirked._

_Then I felt it, all the air fleeing my lungs.  I tried to gasp for air, but the guys were no longer holding me, all of them were hitting me.  I can't remember exactly where or how many times they hit me, but I knew I couldn't fight all three of them, one alone was probably more then I could handle.  I remember crying for Renamon a few times, but getting hit in the head pretty bad.  Strangely I came out of that fight without a single scratch on my face, though I was told that it was pretty bruised up.  _

_Yet it wasn't the punches of those guys that messed me up.  Getting out of there was my only option.  I remember falling to the ground and being at the level of one's crotch, so I balled my fist and hit him there as hard as I could.  The next thing I remember was the guy lying on the ground and I was running away from the alley and toward the street.  Everything was blurry though, and I was pretty confused.  Dazing lights and echoing cries, nothing made sense.  The next thing I remember was seeing the headlights coming toward me, and the blare of a horn in my ears, telling me to get out of the way.  It was too late._

_I call it the accident because it kinda was, the guy driving the car didn't mean to hit me.  I remember a little after the headlights.  There's the image of a crowd standing over me while some guys crammed a tube down my throat.  Then, a little while later, some doctors, at least I think they were doctors, saying something about how they need to open my chest because my heart was failing.  Another vision with more bright lights and some more doctors standing over me, doing surgery I guess.  _

_I've been told that I was comatose for three weeks after being hit by the car, but it seemed like a lot longer.  I had a lot of strange dreams, and my friends and family seemed to always be floating over me saying: "Hang in there Rika!" "Rika, please wake up." "We love you Rika."  Henry's apparition seemed to be the most common, but I can't remember if he said anything to me._

_It was when I woke up that the trouble started.  When I first woke up things were still really hazy, but I remember a lot of people celebrating, and a lot of pain.  I remember Takato saying something to me about a lot of Digimon bioemerging, and Henry saying they were having a lot of trouble fighting them off.  Yet they seemed to be less distressed than they sounded.  I figured that they would be in deep crap without me._

_It was when Ryo came to visit me that I pulled everything together.  Yeah, Takato and Henry had been facing a lot of Digimon, but they weren't in too much trouble because they had Ryo there to help them.  I remember his cocky face, how he pretended to be sympathetic for me.  _

_At first I wasn't bothered by the fact that they were doing all right without me, I didn't want them to get killed by some Digimon or anything.  But then Kazu said something when everyone thought I was asleep, something that I just couldn't believe a friend would say._

_"Man," he laughed, "you guys really showed that Myotismon today!"_

_"Awe," replied Ryo, "He wasn't too tough."_

_"Yeah right!  If it had been Rika instead of Ryo there, you might have gotten your butts kicked!"_

_"Shhh," replied Jeri, "Rika is right there you know!"_

_"Well," whispered Kazu, "Rika's never really been that important."_

_"She's had her moments," that was Takato._

_This was Kenta, "Well, I doubt she'll be much use even if she gets better.  Maybe we should rely on Ryo more now."_

_"Hey, I do what I can," laughed Ryo.  "But Rika doesn't seem to be growing as strong as us."_

_"We cant just cut Rika, she's been a Tamer longer than all of us." Takato._

"Well, the cold fact is that we don't really need her…" I couldn't remember who said that or what else was said because the drugs finally knocked me out, but I had heard enough.  Henry hadn't said anything the entire time, but I'm sure he was nodding at all that was said.  Friends… yeah right.  Friends always seem to betray your trust, ditch you when things look bad.  Only two have stood by my side in the darkest of times: Renamon and Ben the bartender.  The only way to cure that pain is to prevent it.  I will not allow any false friendships with the Tamers grow in my heart, not this time.  Being lonely is painful, but far less than painful than betrayal.  I will never make another friend, I will never be a heroine, and I will never love… life is about survival of the fittest…

They needed her now, and she was actually helping them.  "The accident," Rika repeated, "only showed me what you guys really thought of me."

"Rika," Henry replied, "after the accident I sat by your side as much as I could.  The only times I left were to go to school, to sleep, and to fight an occasional Digimon.  I described every fight to you, and told you how much better we would have done if you had been there.  I even snuck Renamon into the hospital a few times."

"Yeah sure, tell me how important I am when I'm in a coma, great idea."

"Over the years we've concluded that you overheard us talking about how Ryo was a better Tamer than you, and that we didn't need you.  That's why you left us, isn't it."

A glaze formed over her eyes, but quickly turned to rage.  "Yeah, its great overhearing your friends talk about how worthless you are.  And if I remember correctly, you didn't say anything in my defense."

"I wasn't even there Rika.  Takato told me about it later."

Rika laughed and stood up, "Yeah, sure Henry.  Try and redeem yourself.  You didn't agree with a single thing that was said?"

"I really wasn't there, honestly.  I must have gone to the bathroom or something, because I know I wouldn't forget a conversation like that."

"Well, even if you weren't there, it doesn't change what the others said."

"Who said most of it?" Henry challenged, grabbing he shoulders and staring into her eyes with determination.

Rika looked at him angrily, "Kazu… and Kenta and Ryo seemed to agree with him."

"Yeah, Kazu the big mouth.  Don't you remember how he never looks at things logically?  Sure, maybe we were doing ok with Ryo at the time, but none of us would even think of getting rid of you.  And Ryo, he's always joking, I'm sure whatever he said was supposed to be sarcastic.  And you never listened to Kenta before, so why then?"

"I… don't know…"

"So you would trust what you heard while you were pumped full of drugs and probably delirious over the word of your friends?"

"SHUT UP!" Rika screamed and ripped herself from his grasp, turning her back to him.  "I don't need to be lectured by you Henry!  You're so much different than me.  I enjoy killing, I prefer darkness to light, and I've never been as good at making or keeping friends as you.  You never lose yourself in the excitement of battle, yet that's all I live for!"  She turned back to the dark haired boy, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.  "You say I should have trusted my friends, well its not like I've had a lot of friends to trust.  You make it sound like you cared so much for me when I was in the hospital, that you were by my side more than anyone else.  Hell, you make it sound like you loved me or something!"  

"I did…"

Author's Note: I hope people still like this story…


	6. The Supreme Strength

The Fallen:  The Supreme Strength

By Evolution 

Author's Note:  Well, I saw the last Season 3 episode (in Japanese) and I was kinda disappointed.  Rika got screwed, that's for sure.  At least Henry got to be a hero.  That and I wish they were continuing Season 3.  Instead they have a bunch of new Tamers that become Digimon, which sounds kinda lame to me.  Sorry, just ranting ^_^;;  Slow chapter, mainly to get the plot going.  Hope you enjoy!

What is strength… is it the power to have the world bow before you in terror… is it the lust for battle… is it the fight for good… or is it the power to love?    What is the supreme strength…?

The room was dark and the only sound present was the soft breathing of Jeri while she slept.  Takato sat in a chair next to the girl's bed, and he watched her quietly, Guilmon gently resting at his feet.  The Tamer gently pulled off his goggles and tossed them to the floor.  

He looked at the girl's face with compassion and sadness.  She looked so peaceful while she slept.  He twisted some of her hair around one of his fingers and smiled weakly.  Jeri was so much stronger than he was.  She had been through Hell and back, multiple times.  A small tear formed in the corner of his eye.  He would give his life if it meant she never felt anything but happiness for the rest of her life.  But he knew that his presence was one of the few things in this dying world that made her happy.  

Takato looked away from her face and up toward the ceiling.  First there was Leomon's death.  He wasn't sure he could even go on living without Guilmon, and Jeri had lost her partner over seven years ago, and she still seemed strong.  And she had even forgiven Impmon for the murder.  That was true strength.  These last few years must have been even harder for her.  She had spent most of the time as a fugitive with himself, Henry and Ryo.  Though they insisted that she could get away with pretending to be a human, she refused to leave them.  She would hold up her D-Power, the static of Leomon's lost data still hissing quietly, and say that she will always be a Tamer.

Then she found out her brother was still alive.  She contacted him, tearful with joy.  He said he was ecstatic to hear from her and that he wanted to see her as soon as possible.  They hadn't wanted to let her go alone, but she insisted that we could trust her brother.  As soon as she got to his home he handed her over to the authorities.  Her own brother had sent her to die, scared and alone, in the Digital World.  She hadn't spoken much of the death camps, other than she had seen a lot of people die.  

Takato shook his head, feeling an overwhelming ache in his heart.  At times Rika seemed so right.  Why were they trying to save a world where brothers betrayed sisters, a world where terror was an everyday event?  Despite the genetic evidence, Takato still refused to believe that Tamers were any different than humans.  Yet Tamers were persecuted, and slowly being exterminated throughout the entire world.  And many Tamers showed humans the same kind of treatment.  "Rika's right, why are we fighting?" he mumbled.

"Takato," Jeri said.  He looked down at her and let the strands of her brown hair fall from his finger.  She smiled weakly, "For ourselves."

"What?"

"We're fighting for ourselves, Takato.  You want to believe that it's the world we're fighting for, that we're completely selfless.  But we're not, we just refuse to sit around and complain about how bad the world is, so we're doing something about it.  You want a better place for me, and I want a better place for you.  Guilmon wants to be able to buy bread, not steal it.  Henry hates killing, and he wants to stop of much of it as he can.  Ryo and Rika don't care about changing the world, they're happy with the way it is; it means they can fight as much as they want.  But they see that we don't like it this way, so they're helping us.  We're all doing it for our own reasons."

"Well, that's a positive way to look at it, I guess."

"Besides, not everyone is bad, in fact most aren't.  I don't hate my brother, I doubt I'll ever go see him again, but I don't hate him."

Takato smiled, "I can't understand how you never let hate get to you.  I wanted to kill your brother for what he did, yet you don't even seem mad at him."

"Well, maybe if people hated less the world wouldn't be as messed up as it is."

Jeri sat up and Takato embraced her in his arms.  "You're probably right."  He let go of her and reached for his goggles.  He placed them on his head.  He looked at her, his eyes shining confidently.  "As long as we don't lose hope, everything will get better.  We have to be strong."

  
  


"Damn, what does she think we are?" Kenta panted as he entered the room, carrying a large, black duffle bag.  "The military?"  He slammed it down on a table in the corner of the room.  It was a large room, possible a CEO's office at one time.  All the windows were boarded up and painted black to keeping prying eyes blind.  

"Did you manage to get everything she asked for?" Kazu laughed as he approached his friend.

Kenta ripped open the bags zipper and pulled out a large, black gun.  "Yeah, all these weapons cost me a ton.  I was just lucky I happen to know a few illegal arms dealers.  I mean look at this, I doubt Rika will even be strong enough to lift this thing!"  He handed the gun to Kazu.

"A 4820 Demolisher, completely automatic firing system, fires about one hundred rounds a minute," Renamon said as she approached the two men.  "It's Rika's favorite 'big' gun.  And I know Rika's stronger than you will ever be Kenta, so don't doubt her."

Kazu looked at the fox, "What the hell does she want it for?  I mean, this mission is supposed to be somewhat covert."

"Fire power is a turn on for Rika… the more the better."

"Well just look at all this other stuff," Kenta laughed.  "Grenades, more handguns, anti-Digimon devices, enough ammo to last three months, it's like she's going off to war!  Maybe she should see a psychiatrist about this love for guns." 

"If anything it's her antisocial personality that needs help.  Why can't she act like a normal seventeen-year old?  She's been on the roof for hours!" Kazu added.

Renamon glared at them so menacingly that they both took a step back.  "Quit talking about her like that, she's not a normal seventeen year old," the fox growled.  "You two have done enough to her already, and while I'm sure Rika wouldn't have any qualms about killing either of you assholes, you should know that I would take a lot of personal enjoyment in it."  The two Tamers gulped.  Renamon began fiddling with the thick, black straps that crossed her chest and wrapped around her waist.  "Is this really stuff really necessary, Kazu?"  

"Yes," Kazu mumbled, still somewhat flustered.  "It has an anti-detection device that will allow you to infiltrate any place we need you to.  And there's also some first-aid supplies and other stuff in there."  The yellow kitsune felt some vials in one of the belts and pulled one with a thick red liquid in it out its compartment.  She looked at it curiously.  Kazu smiled, "You want to know what that is?"  Renamon nodded.  "That, my friend, is a little thing I call a 'hyper accelerator.'  Just a taste of that and it speeds up every neural reaction in your body.  While it doesn't make you run any faster or make you stronger, it makes the consumer see the world in slow motion, increasing their awareness of the environment and their reaction speed up to 200 percent!  Theoretically, you could see a bullet coming at you and react fast enough to dodge it."

Renamon smiled, "Rika will like this.  How did you get it?"

"I made it, actually."  Renamon squinted.  "Yeah, I'm actually good at something."  Kazu shrugged.  "I've only tested it on organic animals, so I have no idea how it will work on Digital creatures like you.  It shouldn't have any weird effects on humans, but don't let Rika us it unless she absolutely has to."

"Got it."

"Hey, has anyone seen Wildcat?" called the voice of Ryo from down the hall.  A few seconds later he entered the room, follow by Ben and his Gekomon.  "Henry told me she seemed to trust this guy, so we're bringing him along."  

Ben bowed to the other Tamers and introduced himself.  "So all of you are Rika's friends?  She never mentioned having any friends before they began exterminating Tamers."

"We kinda had a falling out… away," Ryo answered.

"Oh… well I'll help you as best as I can.  I don't have much fighting experience, but I believe in what you're fighting for.  I'm willing to die for a better future!"

"Now if only Rika had that attitude!" Kenta laughed.

Ryo added, "That's great Ben.  I'm sure you'll get your chance to prove yourself.  But mostly we need you here in case Wildcat does another emotional flip."

Ben smiled weakly, "I'll do what I can.  Just a question, but how are we going to get to the Digital World from here?"

"Yeah," chirped Gekomon, "I can't even remember how I got to this world it was so long ago."

Ryo grinned, "Come with me… I'll show you."  Ben, as well as everyone else present in the room followed Ryo down the hall to an even larger room, one that must have held hundreds of cubicles at one time.  At the far end of the room stood Gaurdromon, and sitting on his shoulders were Terriermon, Lopmon and MarineAngemon.  Cyberdramon was sitting in a corner, watching quietly.  Between the Digimon was a large contraption with what look like a circular mirror in the middle.  Loose wires and cords were strung everywhere.  Susie was watching Kevin, who was standing at the side of it, wiring some thing to the contraption.  

"How's the time-bomb coming there, Kev?" Ryo asked.

"Just about finished," the Brit replied.  "I've got it set to detonate five minutes after we leave."

"That's too long.  Set it for two minutes."

"Isn't that rather short?  What if not everyone's here, we're going to have a bloody mess, that's for sure."

"Well, if you did it right, the whole building will go down.  And if any of us is too slow, which won't happen, then they go down with it."

"Why do you want to blow up the building?" Ben asked.

Ryo turned to him, "We don't want anyone following us to the Digital World.  Kev here said he had some experience with bombs, so I put him to work.  This is a Digital Gate.  You can set it to whatever sector of the Digital World you want and get there in a second with this thing.  Heh, we got it from a poorly guarded Tamer Transfer Center."

"The employs weren't expecting Tamers and Digimon to send them to the Digital World!" laughed Terriermon.

Ben laughed too.  "I don't know why Rika has such a grudge against you guys, you're great!"

"Rika's a loner," answered Gaurdromon, "she always has been."

"Alright," interrupted Ryo, "enough chatting.  We need to get ready to go.  Where's Takato?"

"He's talking the Jeri somewhere around here," answered Kazu.

"Alright, she could probably use some talking to, she's had a rough time.  Now where are Henry and Wildcat?"

"Rika's on the roof thinking or something, and I have no idea where Henry is."

Ryo shook his head and growled, "Why am I the only one who does any work around here?"

"Hey, Kenta and I do just as much as you!"

Ryo chuckled, "You two don't count.  Now do we have everything we need?"

"Some of Rika's weapons are in the medical room," Kenta replied.

"Well go get them!"  Kenta ran to get Rika's duffle bag.  "Ok now.  Will someone please go get Takato and someone else go find Henry and-" There was a loud blast and the building rocked.

"What was that?!" cried Kevin.

"Shit," Ryo growled.  "They must have found us.  Kenta was probably seen entering here."  He looked to Kazu, "Get the Digital Gate online, we need to get out of here NOW!"

Rika looked at Henry, her jaw hanging open in surprise.  "You… loved me…?"  Henry nodded.  Rika closed her mouth and looked at the dark haired Tamer angrily.  "So what.  Am I supposed to run to you and throw my arms around your neck and madly kiss you or something?  That was a long time ago, and things have changed.  You loved me… love me… I don't care, it doesn't matter now."

"Why do you say that?"

Rika burst out laughing, "Because, despite all of the misunderstandings in the past, it doesn't change the present.  I admit that I used to like you too, as much as I could ever like anyone.  But I don't love you Henry, and I never will.  Love is overrated… it's such a… _human_ thing."

Henry shook his head, "No, you're wrong.  Love is one of the greatest forces in the universe.  Why do you think I volunteered to be the one to find and convince you to come back to us?"

"Because you wanted to see my pretty face after so long?" Rika scoffed.

"No, because I still-" a bright light rose from the side of the building and hovered over the rooftop, causing both the Tamers to squint.  The loud chopping of a government copter filled their ears and the gusts from the slashing blades practically knocked them to the ground.  

"Tamers halt!" cried the loud mechanical voice of the helicopter.  

Rika regained her composure and pulled a gun from her side.  She fired a few rounds into the light and turned to run.  "Run!" she yelled as she got next to Henry's side.  A second later a massive explosion erupted behind them, sending the two Tamers sprawling onto their faces.  Henry quickly stood up and helped Rika to her feet.  She glared at him and growled, "We'll continue this conversation later."  

They ran in the door and down the stairwell.  Another explosion tore off the upper floor of the building, and Rika and Henry had to dodge the falling debris.  91st floor… 90th… 89th… 88th… 87th -there!  Henry burst through the door and raced down the hallway, Rika close at his heels.  

They entered the room with the Digital Gate and saw the others scrambling about chaotically.  "The government's here," yelled Henry as he walked to a table and threw on a large backpack.  "Is the Digital Gate online?"

"No," cried Kazu.  "This is one of the older models, it takes a minute or two to warm up!"

"Shit!" cried Kevin.  

"What's wrong," Henry yelled, the explosions outside the building growing louder and more frequent.

"The timer to the bomb's malfunctioning!  We have two minutes before it goes off!"

"Great.  How much longer till the Digital Gate is functional?" Henry said calmly.

Kazu replied, "About 30 seconds!"  

Henry moved next to Ryo and said, "That's more than enough time to get out of here.  Where's Takato?"

"I'm sure he'll be here any second," answered Ryo.

There was another loud explosion and the side of the building tore away, crashing to the street below.  A small helicopter with two lights on the wings appeared outside the hole.  

"Get under cover," Henry screamed.  Everyone in the room ducked to the floor or hid behind tables as two large rotary guns began blazing from the helicopter.  A spray of bullets ricocheted through the room.

 "Guardromon, protect the Gate!" yelled Kazu.  The robotic Digimon quickly moved in front of the portal and took a stream of bullets in his chest.  The bullets, now flat pieces of metal, fell to the ground leaving Gaurdromon, and the Gate, relatively unharmed.  

The rotary guns on the helicopter stopped momentarily and the helicopter scanned the room to see if anyone had survived.  Ryo quickly reached into the bag next to him and pulled out a long cylindrical gun.  He stood up and placed it over his shoulder.  A small eyepiece popped out of the gun and lined up with Ryo's eye.  He pulled the trigger of the gun and a large red ball of energy shot from the gun.  The recoil sent Ryo flying back a few feet, and the ball of energy collided with the helicopter, causing it to explode into a massive ball of flames and fall out of the sky.

Henry stood up and brushed some of the debris off his cloths.  He looked at Ryo who was smirking.  "I love this baby!"  Henry raised an eyebrow at his friend, who tried to look defensive.  "Hey, Wildcat's not the only one who likes big guns!"

Henry shook his head and looked over to Kazu, who was standing next to the gate.  "How much time's left?"

"Thirty seconds!" screamed Kazu.

"Everyone into the Digital Gate!" yelled Henry.

 Terriermon, MarineAngemon, Lopmon and Renamon leapt through the portal.  Cyberdramon grabbed Gaurdromon and shoved him through, and then followed.  Susie grabbed Kevin and leapt through, followed by Ben and Gekomon.  Rika walked up to the portal and stood next to Kazu and Kenta, who was holding her duffle bag.  "Give me that," she growled and ripped the bag from him.

Kazu looked at her and smiled, "Ladies first."

"Shut up," Rika hissed and pushed the other two Tamers through the Gate, and then she jumped in herself.  

Ryo and Henry ran to the Gate.  "Where the hell is Takato!" cried Ryo.

"We're right here!" cried Takato and he, Jeri and Guilmon ran into the room.

Henry looked at the bomb timer.  Seven seconds.  "Hurry up!" he yelled as he jumped through and Ryo followed.  Guilmon grabbed Jeri and sprinted to the portal, jumping through.  Takato jumped through the air, almost at the portal.  The counter on the bomb reached zero, and the building that had served as the Tamer's base lit up the night sky.

Author's Note:  This new uploading system is insane…


	7. The Double Strand

The Fallen: The Double Strand

**By Evolution**

Author's Note: My sincerest apologies for taking so long to continue this story, I know I don't deserve to have anyone read it.  It's amazing how life can get so hectic at times, especially with the loss of a loved one.  Well it's been a long time, I've grown a lot, and I'm finally ready to continue this story.  I'm sorry if the writing isn't up to par, I haven't written anything since the last chapter (I couldn't even remember where I wanted to go with the story lol).  There's some science fiction in this chapter, so please don't go ask your teacher about the Alderian chromosomal region, because I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist.  I hope you enjoy and I plan to get more chapters up soon!

The double strand… the informational unit of life on Earth… no different from the data that make up a Digimon… life, no matter how it is encoded… is sacred…

With the turn of the century came the completion of the Human Genome Project.  The whole world celebrated with the amazing possibilities that this success yielded.  All genetic diseases could be cured; the immune system could be enhanced to fight any infection, genes could be altered so people in starving countries could eat normally indigestible food.  But the imagination of the military and those in power is always focused on one thing… power.  The genetic alteration of normal human beings to create "super soldiers" was the most they were able to see as potential with the project.  Laughable, something that could be so good would never be used for anything other than the misery of others.  

Super soldiers, that was what the government thought when they realized the difference between humans and Tamers.  Tamers, as was discovered with a genetic scan, had a genetic difference, a single, simple frameshift mutation.  In the Alderian region of chromosome 17 two bases were deleted: two thiamine bases were substituted with one guanine base.  This caused a misread of the genetic information that would normally cause a developing creature to die… but evolution favors that which enhances an organism.  Because of this mutation a neurotransmitter in the brain was changed.  Scientists were not able to understand what the replacement of Acetocholine with this new neurotransmitter meant, but many theorized that it was what allowed Tamers to form their special bonds with Digimon.  The military tried to recruit the Tamers to fight for them, to bring down the terrorists and dictators of countries.  But most Tamers just wanted to live as normal people.  Who would want to be a pawn of the military?  

Senator Tanashi of the United States was originally a great proponent of using Tamers in the military.  But when they refused he turned against them.  He used Humanity's fear of the new to breed mistrust of the Tamers, and eventually the all-out hatred of them.  Technology quickly grew, and access to normal humans to the Digital World was obtained.  Tanashi easily won the race for presidency and then claimed dictatorship over the country.  Yet the people supported him when he started building the death camps in the Digital World.  Tanashi's own son was the first to be executed, and the world rejoiced.  Soon the whole world was subject to Tanashi's rule, and Tamers were safe in no country.  Government and free agents hunted them, and if they were not caught by them, many of them would be turned in by their own families.  Tanashi, now called the Sovereign, could not be satisfied; his greed for power caused his soul to rot along with the bodies of the thousands of people he murdered.  And in this world of darkness the Tamers fled and hid from their own loved ones, and they tried to live as best possible.  But they were quickly nearing extinction, and there was only one hope for them: a group of Tamers from Japan…

The sky of the Digital World was black, the waste of the death camps blocking out any light.  Rika helped Takato up from the ground, his face cut and bleeding from the fall to the ground.  "Do you have to cut things so close?  Next time just go down with the building so that we don't have to worry about you making it!" she yelled.

Jeri ran into Takato's arms, "I'm so glad you're ok!"

Takato embraced Jeri and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry Jeri, I won't ever leave you."

"Alright, now we're in the Digital World.  Now what?" growled Renamon.

"Beezelmon is leading an army of Digimon a few miles south of here," explained Ryo, "we're going to meet up with him and then from there we head to the Sovereign's base."

Rika burst into laughter, "The Sovereign's base!?  You've got to be kidding.  All of us and then a wimpy little army of Digimon are going to take out an entire fortress?  Why don't we just walk into a death camp and line up for execution?  That would be quicker!"

"Rika, the battle is just going to be a distraction," Takato replied, "while we infiltrate the base."

"Whatever, its your guys' plan.  I just hope you guys know what you're doing."  Takato and Ryo lead the way, and the rest of the Tamers followed.  

Henry came to Rika's side and put his arm on her shoulder.   "They know what their doing Rika.  We have to trust them."

Rika looked at him, "Listen Henry, that stuff on the roof, it kinda makes me see how I should trust you guys.  But the whole love thing, lets keep that to ourselves.  And don't let it get in the way of fighting, bringing down the Sovereign is what's most important, and don't you dare put me in front of that."

"Right."

Beezelmon stood before a massive army.  Thousands upon thousands of Digimon watched him as he paced before them.  They ranged from the very small to the very large, from the very powerful to the weak.  All of them wanted to contribute to this fight.  Their world had been just as torn by the Sovereign as the human world, and many Digimon had died because of him.  If there were any difficulties between the Digimon and the humans, those were put aside by the extreme hatred they all possessed for the Sovereign.  

"Soon we will stand before a massive fortress, one that even with an army of this size we can never hope to take.  Many of us will die, perhaps all of us.  But even if that is so, if this mission fails we will all die anyway.  The Sovereign intends to wipe Digimon off the face of the Digital World, but he won't stop there.  There are other worlds like the human's, and ours and he intends to rule all of them.  If we don't stop him, then there will be no hope for those other worlds," he spat.  "The Sovereign's army of humans is large enough to take an entire world, and most other worlds are like us, they have no connection to the others.  Each of those worlds will fall one by one, and the other worlds will be none the wiser.  This is about something greater than us, and if we can stop him there is hope of returning our world to the way it was, or maybe even better.  Remember this, it is better to die fighting the Sovereign than to live as his slave!"  A loud cheer rose from the crowd of Digimon and many began changing: death to the Sovereign.  

"Beezelmon, I never knew you could be such an outstanding general," laughed Takato.  "You always seemed like the outlaw type to me."

"I am an outlaw," growled Beezelmon, "I've never made the Sovereign's life easy.  We stumbled on a group of his scouts attacking a village a few hours ago.  A few of the soldiers managed to escape, but we deleted most of them."

"Good," said Ryo, "hopefully some renegade Digimon will kill the ones that escaped before they can report our army.  The Digital World is not a safe place for a soldier to walk alone!"  

"Everything's set in motion.  With the large anti-detection devices we have the Sovereign won't realize we're coming until we're within site of his fortress.  That will help fluster him and help give us a chance to get inside," said Takato.

Ben approached Rika's side, "It's amazing… I've never seen so many Digimon before."

"This is your first time to the Digital World isn't it?" chuckled Rika.

"It's great to be back," laughed Geckomon

"Ben, thank you for coming with us," Rika said as she wrapper her arm around his shoulders.  "I know that you don't have much fighting experience, but I know that you'll do your best to help us."

"Thanks Rika," Ben blushed.

"Well, lets get a move on," yelled Kevin, "let's go kick that bastard's arse and show him that we really are the superior species!"

"Calm down Kevin, we don't want to rush into things," said Henry.  Then a loud rushing sound filled the air.  "What's that?"

A jet shot over one of the hills in the distance, and quickly rushed toward them.  "Incoming!" screamed Kazu.  The jet passed over their heads, and as it did so it sent a stream of bullets flying into the mass of Digimon.  Many of them burst into dust as their lives were torn from their bodies.

"Shit!" screamed Ryo.  "Those soldiers that got away must have reported us!"  The jet turned around and came back at them for another pass.  Ryo pulled out his gun and aimed carefully.  Just as the jet was coming overhead he pulled the trigger and the jet became a massive ball of flames.  Pieces of burning metal fell to the ground all around the Tamers.  

"Let's get the hell out of here," cried Kenta.  "Before more get here."  But it was too late.  Two more jets surfaced on the horizon and a loud explosion ripped through the center of the Digimon army.  

Ryo turned to Rika and Takato.  "You guys get out of here.  You know where to go to get into the fortress.  Kazu, Kenta and I will stay here with the army, and hopefully we won't lose too many.  You'll know when we get to the fortress, and when we do get in there and plant those bombs."

"Right!" yelled Takato over the explosions.  "Good luck!"

"Hey Wildcat," yelled Ryo, "if you see the Soverign put a bullet in his head for me!"  

Rika nodded.  "Ben," she cried, "You're coming with us!"

"Ok," yelped Ben as a spray of bullets tore the ground in front of him to shreds.  He dashed after Takato and Rika.  Guilmon grabbed Takato and Jeri in his arms and Renamon grabbed Ben, Geckomon and Rika.  Henry followed behind them.

"Wait, I'm coming with you," cried Kevin.

"Hurry up then," yelled Henry as he caught up to Renamon, Terriermon grasping tightly to the back of his head. 

When the Tamers were a few miles away from the fray they stopped running to take a break.  Kevin and Henry looked exhausted; they had run the entire way.  Explosions could still be seen in the distance as the battle raged on.

"Come on Ryo," growled Takato.  "You can't lose too many Digimon or else you won't be able to give us enough time to plant those bombs."

"So that's the plan?" asked Kevin.  "We get into the Sovereign's fortress, plant some bombs and blow them all away?  Seems too simple to me."

"Hardly," growled Rika, "even if we manage to get in there, we'll be lucky to come out alive.  We may even have to blow the place up with us in it."

"Why don't we just kill the Sovereign while we're in there," asked Ben, "I mean even if we blow the place up he might escape."

"We just have to hope that he's too busy concentrating on the battle outside and that we don't get caught.  Intelligence inside the fortress tells us that he will be there," explained Renamon.  

"Henry, are you alright?" asked Guilmon.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired from all that running," Henry laughed.  "If only my old PE teacher could see me now."

Takato pulled out some binoculars and looked off into the distance.  "We still have a long way to go guys.  If we keep walking we can make it there by tomorrow evening."

"It'll be better if we get there a few hours before the army," Rika said, "that way we can do some surveillance and monitor the guards.  If we can figure out their patterns then we should be able to get in without being seen.  Did intelligence provide any entrances that would work better than the others?"

"Yeah," answered Takato.  "There's an entrance toward the back.  It's not pretty, its through a bunch of pipes in the sewer system, but it's the least guarded and monitored way."

"Well lets get going," replied Jeri, no smile on her face.  "It's time we took the Sovereign out of power."

The Tamers began to walk in the direction of the fortress.  Rika put her gun into the duffle bag and then looked at Renamon.  Renamon looked back at her and the two nodded in understanding that this might be their last fight together.  Rika was about to tell her partner to be careful in the fortress, that life wouldn't be the same without her when a gunshot screamed behind them.  All of the Tamers looked back in shock.  

Ben stood at the back of the group, his face pale and twisted in pain.  He slowly fell to his knees, revealing Kevin standing behind him, pointing a Magnum revolver at the rest of the group.  "Alright you freaks," Kevin growled, "lets see you toss all of your weapons aside."  None of the Tamers responded.  "I said fuckin' drop your weapons on the ground!"  The Tamers hesitantly complied.

"What the hell are you doing!" screamed Rika as she started to move toward Ben.

"Stop or I'll spray you're pretty little brains all over everyone," Kevin hissed.  Renamon started to move toward Kevin, but he pointed the gun at her.  "This is one of the most powerful revolvers the Sovereign's army issues, I'm trained to shoot a bloke in the eye with this at 150 meters.  At this range it'll kill any of you soft tissue Digimon with one shot."

"Kevin," cried Takato, "why are you doing this?"  

"Espionage is the game, friend."  Kevin pulled an automatic handgun from his side with his free hand.  "When I'm done with you guys the Sovereign will give me a medal for this.  Your considered the most powerful Tamers on Earth, but you were still no match for the best assassin in the Sovereign's army."  

"But," cried Jeri, "What were you doing in the death camp?  I thought you were a Tamer."

Kevin laughed, "I'm no Tamer freak; in fact I've done a lot of my marksmanship training on you buggers.  There's nothing as fun as letting one of you try to escape the camp and then shooting you in the head as you run."  A little string of drool dripped from the corner of the assassin's mouth.  "It was all a set up.  I was placed next to you to get to the rest of your friends, we knew they'd try to rescue you, Jeri."  

Kevin, keeping the automatic gun on the rest of the group wrapped his arm around Rika and put the gun to her head.  "I think I'll kill your friends first," he whispered to her, "and then I'll have a little fun with you before you join 'em…"


End file.
